3 minute read
With Prentice venturing to Wagin with three runners, Crowd Control and Icy Winds flew the flag in their respective races at the country meet, but with Mitchell Miller tasked with presenting Soho Dow Jones in the $30,000 Pure Steel Pace at Gloucester Park, the impressive type would have taken stable honours with his dominating win, making it three in a row for the four-year-old.
Crowd Control was never in any danger in the first, with the $1.08 favourite leading all the way over the 1776m trip from barrier two, pulling away to win very comfortably by a 21.5m margin, giving Prentice and driver Corey Peterson the first of their combining double on the night.
It appeared as though Wagin was a leader bias track, with all winners leading from start to stop. Ark Of Rock broke a 23-start losing sequence, with the six-year-old bringing up her first win this year, almost six months since her last in Albany. The win gave Hayden Reeves his only winner on the night, but the win was the first of two for reinsman Dean Miller.
Colin Reeves and Nathan Turvey took out race three with I See Fire holding off his rivals, to win by 1.8m in 2:03:0 over the 1776m trip. The five-year-old, who has been in the care of Reeves since late last year has now had three wins from 21 starts, taking him on after the now five-year-old gave the 71-year-old his first driving win in 7 years in May 2022.
Race four went the way of the $1.65 favourite, Tumblin Dice for Logan Egerton-Green and Trent Wheeler. The five-year-old, who hasn't seen the winner's circle since December 2022, lead all the way to win by 12.5m, bringing up the geldings seventh career win in 46 starts.
Brad Lynn and Maddy Young combined for a double on the night, with Ideal Secret kicking off the celebrations for the duo. The four-year-old was able to cross to the front from barrier four, and at $9 odds was able to stave off his peers to win by 5.5m on the line in a mile rate of 2:03:5 over the 2180m journey.
The second instalment of Dean Millers winning double came up in race five when he was able to steer home Diamond Daze to victory for trainer Leeann Lee. The five-year-old mare resumed after a short let up just three starts ago, and appreciated the drop in class this week, leading all the way, and even after copping pressure throughout the race, was too good for her rivals, holding a 1.1m margin on the line in 2:02:2.
Prentice and Peterson were back for round two, with Icy Winds getting the win in race seven on the card. Making it three wins from just 22 starts, the four-year-old made her return to racing in early May, and at just her fourth start back has broken a 16-start losing sequence. The third win for the stable on the night, Prentice required the navigation skills of caller Matt Young on the night to get to the Wagin racetrack, convinced he would still be driving if it wasn't for him.
Closing the meeting with what was a night for doubles, Brad Lyn and Maddy Young once again joined forces with Eileenmay breaking through for her maiden win. The four-year-old daughter of local stallion Fly Like An Eagle led all the way in race 8, winning at just her seventh start in a race.
